TOP NEWS

🏨 Centara Hotels & Resorts aims for international growth by partnering with large investors instead of individual deals, COO Michael Henssler announced. Part of Thailand's Central Group, Centara operates 52 hotels: 23 owned/joint ventures and 29 managed, with 41 more in development. Their brands include Centara Reserve, Centara Grand, and others, with locations in the Maldives, Japan, and the Middle East. This asset-light strategy emphasizes management over ownership.

🏨 Hotels and restaurants face a mobile-first market: over 7.1 billion people worldwide used mobile devices in 2022, and over 40% of hotel bookings were made on mobile in 2021. The article highlights 10 website trends, including AI personalization, QR codes, conversational tools, eco-design, storytelling, dark mode, creative scrolling, video and instant messaging. Faster websites, fewer booking steps, and Apple Pay or Google Pay can streamline reservations, while personalized content helps increase direct revenue.

🏨 Hotels and restaurants can use ChatGPT for 24/7 guest assistance, multilingual communication, personalized welcome messages and simultaneous inquiries. It can support reservations, explain rates and availability, analyze booking trends, generate FAQs and draft review responses—the article claims replies to 100 guests in minutes. These applications aim to reduce staff workload and translation costs, improve guest satisfaction and increase revenue.

✈ Hotels, airlines and travel businesses face 23 technology trends for 2027, led by AI booking agents, connected systems and cybersecurity. IATA reports 71% of travelers prefer online or mobile booking. AI use among US travelers reached 56%, up from 43% in late 2025. Globally, tourism contributed $12 trillion and 376 million jobs, according to WTTC. Businesses are urged to prioritize reliable data, secure payments and human oversight as automation expands.

🏨 In Phoenix, at The Lodging Conference 2026, hotel industry optimism is rising toward 2027, focusing on conversions over costly ground-up developments. Conversions, especially soft brands, are seen as growth drivers. AI's role in hotel selection and booking is expanding, impacting visibility and costs. Third-party management companies are crucial for smaller owners, aiding revenue and cost management. Newport Hospitality Group, a key player, oversees various hotel brands across the U.S., emphasizing asset maximization and technological integration for growth.

🏨 Hotel management agreements typically entail a base fee of 2-4% of total revenue and an incentive fee of 10-20% of cash flow above a set return. Operators often seek contracts of 10+ years, with rights to terminate only for cause. Owners are advised to negotiate terms to protect financial interests, such as realistic incentive hurdles and performance-based termination rights. Proper contract management ensures profitability and control over operations and data.

💻 Markus Schmiedhofer of Shiji shares insights on hotel PMS migrations, highlighting the need to start with people rather than technology. Key steps include defining clear project ownership, involving stakeholders early, and building internal support months before go-live. Schmiedhofer’s experience includes leading migrations for 110 Fletcher Hotels properties and Grand Resort Bad Ragaz. Shiji provides cloud-based solutions for over 91,000 hotels globally, enhancing hotel operations and guest engagement through data intelligence and seamless systems integration.

💻 In a recent discussion, Gilad Berenstein highlighted the transformative potential of AI in hospitality. He suggested hoteliers should integrate AI into daily tasks for gradual innovation. AI swarms, like interconnected concierge agents, could enhance service, leveraging existing data. Case studies include Shashi Hotel's noise-tracking sensors and Atlantis The Royal’s location beacons. Personalized upgrades, like a €30 custom trip for €300, exemplify AI’s value. Gilad emphasized AI's role in allowing staff to focus on genuine hospitality.

🏖 Located inside Grand Canyon National Park, Yavapai Lodge's 358 rooms at the South Rim faced 30-minute wait times for check-in. Delaware North implemented Canary Technologies' Self-Service Kiosks and AI Guest Messaging, allowing two staff to assist five guests simultaneously, eliminating wait complaints. Compensation costs for delays dropped to $0, while seamless communication alleviated phone line issues. The solution improved guest satisfaction, reduced stress, and decreased staff turnover, enhancing the hospitality experience. Canary supports over 20,000 hotels globally.

💻 Union Square Plaza Hotel, San Francisco, leverages Cloudbeds’ open API to customize its operations. With 85 rooms, it enhances inventory and rate management using AI, simplifying tasks like pricing decisions. Owner Sal Patel, lacking an engineering background, utilizes AI tools to bridge technical gaps without needing a developer. Cloudbeds, founded in 2012 and operating in over 150 countries, offers integrated hospitality management solutions, and has been named a top system by Hotel Tech Report for eight years.